Finlieve

The walk up Finlieve is straightforward enough, a proper leg-stretcher that rewards you with commanding views across the Mourne Mountains and down towards Newry. It's not the highest peak in the range - that honour goes to Slieve Donard - but it punches above its weight for accessibility and the quality of what you see from the top.

You're looking at roughly an hour to the summit from the car park, depending on fitness and how many times you stop to catch your breath. The path is well-trodden and generally clear, though it can get boggy after rain. On a decent day the visibility stretches all the way to the coast. Winter can be bleak and wet, so pick your weather window carefully.

This one suits walkers after a decent half-day outing without the full commitment of Slieve Donard. Families with older kids will manage it fine; younger ones might find it a slog. The views themselves are the main event - dramatic moorland and distant horizons rather than any particular features at the summit.

Free to do, obviously. Allow three hours if you want a proper break at the top. Staying in the area gives you real options: Oakwood glamping in the Mournes is genuinely excellent and only 2.4 miles away, while Kilbroney Caravan Park and Greenview Glamping offer solid alternatives for a longer mountain-based holiday. Newry itself is close enough for supplies and an evening out, though the mountains themselves are why you're really there.